The last entry in our Wisconsin Film Fest schedule was Mardi Gras: Made in China. After our disappointment over Darwin's Nightmare, we were a little worried that this documentary would be another downer. Fortunately, though it wasn't exactly a light-hearted gigglefest, it was an enjoyable film. It made you think, but it didn't make you want to lie down and die.

Director David Redmon decided to look closely at the ever popular Mardi Gras beads. Where do they come from? Who makes them? What do they think of the beads? The film bounced back and forth between the teaming streets of (pre-Katrina) Mardi Gras in New Orleans and the stark and orderly factory in China where most of the beads are produced.

The factory workers were mostly young women, who lived in tiny dorms on the factory grounds and sent much of their earnings home to their families. They came across as fairly sweet and innocent, with big dreams of the future. The bead-wearers were, by contrast, were in the midst of a drunken party that involved food, music, and lots of physical exposure. When shown photos from Mardi Gras, the factory workers giggled in embarassment and expressed wonder that anyone would go to such lengths to obtain the cheap, tacky beads. When shown photos of the factory workers, the partiers tended to display guilt and/or anger at the filmmaker for killing their buzz with real-world issues.

It seemed to be a very even-handed treatment. Even the relatively wealthy (male) factory owner and the American distributor who sold the beads at a huge mark-up didn't come across as villians. Redmon certainly sets us to thinking, but he never falls into the trap of the easy answer or the convenient bad guy.

My one problem when watching the film was not related to the film but to the weekend. I had been up late for two nights running, and up very early that morning, so I was exhausted and occasionally drifted into drowsiness during the screening, which made me miss some parts of the film.

And there you have it. Late late late, my last film fest review. Also overdue: I had a coupon for a free movie rental at Bongo Video that came with our tickets. It expired on 5/31, and I never used it. Ah well.